GB2361739A

GB2361739A - Plastic floor protector shoe for foot plate of load bearing vertical member such as scaffolding

Info

Publication number: GB2361739A
Application number: GB0010443A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Martin Humphries
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-04-28
Filing date: 2000-04-28
Publication date: 2001-10-31
Also published as: GB0010443D0

Abstract

A moulded plastic floor protector 2, such as a scaffolding foot plate shoe, for protecting a floor against high loads from a vertical member 6, comprises a tray portion 8 for receiving a foot plate portion 10 at the bottom of the vertical member 6. The tray 8 is bounded at it edges by upstanding walls 12 to prevent horizontal separation of plate 10 from tray 8, and clip devices 14 prevent vertical separation of plate 10 from tray 8 such that the vertical member 6 may be moved around with the protector 2 falling off the vertical member 10 thus maintaining protection of the floor. The underside of the protector 2 may feature a load spreading formation consisting of concentric circular and radially extending walls (20,22, fig.4). The protector may further feature a cover (fig.7) which may further feature a slit extending from a central aperture to an edge to aid engagement around the vertical member 6.

Description

2361739 A FLOOR PROTECTOR This invention relates to a floor protector and,

more especially, this invention relates to a floor protector for protecting a floor from high vertical loads applied to the floor through a vertical member.

Floor protectors are known for protecting a floor from high vertical loads applied to the floor through a vertical member. The vertical member may be a scaffolding pole, a leg of a large machine, a leg of a steel structure, a leg of a storage rack, or a table leg. In order to help spread the high vertical load applied through the vertical member, the vertical member has a plate portion at its bottom. This plate portion can damage floors, for example by scratching'the floors or knocking bits out of the floors as the vertical member is moved during location of the vertical member to a desired position on the floor. Damage to floors is generally undesirable and this is especially so where the floors are expensive and intended to be aesthetically pleasing, such for example as marble floors in churches, and highly polished wooden floors in large rooms and halls.

The known floor protectors are moulded from a plastics material. They suffer from a major disadvantage in that they tend to separate from the plate portions during movement of the vertical members. This is especially so if the vertical members are moved vertically off the floor 2 during installation or removal. The known floor protectors also tend to be relatively thick which means that they use more plastics material than is necessary, which in turn means that they are more expensive than they need otherwise be.

It is an aim of the present invention to obviate or reduce the above mentioned problems.

Accordingly, in one nonlimiting embodiment of the present invention there is provided a floor protector for protecting a floor from high vertical loads applied to the floor through a vertical member, which floor protector is moulded from a plastics material, and which floor protector comprises a tray portion for receiving a plate portion at the bottom of the vertical member, walls which upstand from the tray portion and prevent horizontal separation of the plate portion from the tray portion, and clip devices for preventing vertical separation of the plate portion from the tray portion, whereby the floor protector is able to be fitted to the vertical member and the vertical member moved without the floor protector falling off the vertical member.

The floor protector of the present invention thus enables the vertical member. to be moved at will in the knowledge that the floor protector will not fall off the vertical member. This is especially advantageous if the vertical member is a free standing vertical member such for example as a scaffolding pole which may be moved around 3 quite a lot before it is located in its final position. Without the floor protector being on the vertical member, there is a good chance that at some stage the vertical member will be placed on the f loor and will damage it. The floor protector of the present invention is able to ensure that the bottom of the vertical member is always covered and thus prevented from damaging the floor.

Preferably there are three of the clip devices. More or less than three of the clip devices may be employed.

Preferably, the floor protector is one in which the clip devices comprise lugs which project inwardly and which are spaced above the tray portion, whereby the plate portion is a sliding fit on to the tray portion. Other types of clip devices may be employed. Where the clip devices are lugs, then the lugs are preferably rectangular in plan. Other shapes for the lugs may be employed.

Preferably, the floor protector includes a loadspreading formation on a lower face of the tray portion.

The load-spreading portion preferably comprises circular walls, and radially- extending web portions which extend between the circular walls.

Preferably, the floor protector is square in plan. The f loor protector may be. of other shapes in plan if desired so that, for example, the floor protector may be circular in plan.

A presently preferred plastics material is polypropylene. The polypropylene may be used on its own.

4 Alternatively, if desired, the polypropylene may be a copolymer. Fillers other than talc may be employed. Al so, plastics materials other than polypropylene may be employed so that, for example, the plastics material may be polyethylene, acrylobutadiene styrene or nylon. Generally, in order to keep manufacturing costs as low as possible, the plastics material should be as cheap as possible. The plastics material should also be one which will not become brittle and crack in cold ambient temperatures, and one which will also not become soft in hot ambient temperatures.

The floor protector may include a cover, the cover having a central aperture through which the vertical member passes during use of the floor protector.

Usually, the cover will be adapted to be slit from its periphery to the central aperture in order to get the cover around the vertical member after location of the vertical member on the tray portion. If desired, a slit can be produced during manufacture so that it is only then necessary to bend the cover to locate it in position. Instead of a slit, a slot could be employed.

The cover will usually be separately formed from the tray portion. If desired however the cover may be secured to the tray portion or the upstanding wall, for example, by a flexible linking member.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view from above and one side of a floor protector; Figure 2 is a perspective view from above and the front of the floor protector as shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan view from above of the floor protector as shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the underneath of the floor protector shown in Figure 1; Figure 5 is another perspective view showing the underside of the floor protector shown in Figure 1; Figure 6 is a plan view showing the underside of the floor protector shown in Figure 1; Figure 7 is a perspective view showing a cover forming an optional feature of the floor protector shown in Figure 1; Figure 8 is a view of the underside of the cover shown in Figure 7; Figure 9 is a plan view showing the top of the cover; Figure 10 is a section on line A-A shown in Figure 9; and Figure 11 is a section of part of the floor protector as shown in Figure 4, and illustrates one of the clip formations on the floor protector.

6 Referring to the drawings, there is shown a floor protector 2 for protecting a floor 4 from high vertical loads applied to the floor 4 through a vertical member 6. The floor protector 2 is moulded from a plastics material.

The floor protector 2 comprises a tray portion 8 for receiving a plate portion 10 at the bottom of the vertical member 6. The floor protector 2 also comprises walls 12 which upstand from the tray portion 10 and which prevent horizontal separation of the plate portion 10 from the tray portion 8. As can be seen f rom, the drawings, there are four of the walls 12 and they form a continuous periphery around the tray portion 8.

The floor protector 2 further comprises clip devices 14 for preventing vertical separation of the plate portion 10 from the tray portion 8. The floor protector 2 is thus able to be fitted to the vertical member 6, and the vertical member 6 is able to be moved without the floor protector 2 falling off the vertical member 6 due to horizontal separation or vertical separation.

The clip devices 14 are in the form of lugs which project inwardly as shown and which are spaced above the tray portion 8, also as shown. The plate portion 10 is thus able to be a sliding fit on to the tray portion 8. There are three of the clip devices 14 and they are rectangular in plan as shown.

As can be seen from Figures 4, 5 and 6 the floor protector 2 includes a load-spreading formation 16 on a 7 lower face 18 of the tray portion 8. The load-spreading formation 16 comprises circular walls 20, and radiallyextending web portions 22 which extend between the circular walls 20 as shown.

The illustrated floor protector 2 is square in plan but it could be of other shapes if desired. The f loor protector 2 is also such that the plastics material is polypropylene. The polypropylene may be used on its own or it may be a co-polymer. Other plastics materials may be employed if desired.

In an optional embodiment of the invention as shown in Figures 7 and 8, the f loor protector 2 includes a cover 24. The cover 24 has a central aperture 26 through which the vertical member 6 passes during use of the floor protector 2. The cover 24 is adapted to be slit from its periphery 28 to the central aperture 26 in order to get the cover 24 around the vertical member 6 after location of the vertical member 6 on the tray portion 8. The cover will usually be moulded to be very thin so that the cover can easily be slit, for example with a Stanley knife by a person installing the floor protector 2 on the plate portion 10 of the vertical member 6. Alternatively, if desired, the cover 24 can be moulded with the slit already formed.

The cover 24 has four clip formations 30 and four support posts 32 as shown in Figures 9 and 10. The f loor protector 2 has two clip formations 34 as shown in Figures 4 and 11. Any opposed two of the clip formations 30 clip 8 to the clip formations 34 so that the cover 24 can be any way around with respect to the f loor 4. The support posts 32 stop the cover 24 collapsing onto the floor 4.

It is to be appreciated that the embodiments of the invention described above with reference to the accompanying drawings have been given by way of example only and that modifications may be effected. Thus, for example, the cover 24 may be moulded with a slot instead of a slit, the slot being wider than the slit. Also, different designs for the load-spreading formation 16 may be employed. Still further, the floor protector 2 may be other than square in plan view so that, f or example, it may be circular if desired.

Claims

1. A floor protector for protecting a floor from high vertical loads applied to the floor through a vertical member, which floor protector is moulded from a plastics material, and which floor protector comprises a tray portion for receiving a plate portion at the bottom of the vertical member, walls which upstand from the tray portion and prevent horizontal separation of the plate portion from the tray portion, and clip devices for preventing vertical separation of the plate portion from the tray portion, whereby the floor protector is able to be fitted to the vertical member and the vertical member moved without the floor protector falling off the vertical member.

2. A floor protector according to claim 1 in which there are three of the clip devices.

3. A f loor protector according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the clip devices comprise lugs which project inwardly and which are spaced above the tray portion, whereby the plate portion is a sliding fit on to the tray portion.

4. A floor protector according to claim 3 in which the lugs are rectangular in plan.

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5. A floor protector according to any one of the preceding claims and including a load-spreading formation on a lower face of the tray portion.

6. A floor protector according to claim 5 in which the load-spreading formation comprises circular walls, and radially- extending web portions which extend between the circular walls.

7. A floor protector according to any one of the preceding claims and which is square in plan.

8. A floor protector according to any one of the preceding claims in which the plastics material is polypropylene.

9. A floor protector according to claim 8 in which the polypropylene is talc filled polypropylene.

10. A floor protector according to any one of the preceding claims and including a cover, the cover having a central aperture through which the vertical member passes during use of the floor protector.

11. A floor protector according to claim 10 in which the cover is adapted to be slit from its periphery to the central aperture in order to get the cover around the vertical member after location of the vertical member on the tray portion.

12. A floor protector according to claim 10 or claim 11 in which the cover is of substantially the same shape in plan as the tray portion.

13. A floor protector for protecting a floor from high vertical loads applied to the floor through a vertical member, substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.